The Rising is an epic tale of friendship, love, loss and betrayal set against the backdrop of the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

The movie opens on the British colonial rulers who are living a high standard of life at the expense of the local people. This causes widespread resentment.

To make matters worse, the British are using the Indians as sepoys - the infantry of the army, to control and regulate the population.

After a hundred years under the rule of the British Raj, the people of India are fed up. They now crave for a change in the form of Independence.

Meanwhile, the story deviates on one sepoy by the name of Mangal Pandey (Aamir Khan). He rescues his British commanding officer, William Gordon (Toby Stephens) during one of the battles.

As a result, a strong friendship and binding loyalty builds up between the two characters.

But this friendship is soon challenged, first by arrival of a charming and beautiful young aristocrat, Emily Kent (Carol Beed) and then by the introduction of controversial new gun cartridges among the troops.

Matters get complicated when Gordon saves Jwala (Amisha Patel), a young native girl from the funeral pyre of her late husband and falls in love with her.

Meanwhile the new cartridges require soldiers to bite through their greased casing, made of animal fat.

And so a rumour starts to spread that the British are ignoring the religious beliefs in favour of cheap weapons, as they pollute their Muslim and Hindu soldiers.

Gordon assures Mangal that the cartridges are free from pollution. So demonstrating his total trust in his friend, Mangal bites the cartridge.

To their shock and horror, they discover that it really is made of animal fat proving the rumour to be true.

Such an event sparks off a feeling of resentment across the Indian continent. Mutiny breaks out as Mangal's popularity increases amongst his fellow sepoys.

He eventually leads the Indian people to freedom and becomes India's first revolutionary freedom fighter. But in 1857, he was finally hanged by the British for revolting against their rule.

The Rising is based on real historical events, seen as a trigger for Indian independence. It has been filmed in India over 6 months with a mix of British and Indian cast.